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Wally Nell, photographer – shot by Egyptian Police

By now most of you have probably heard what happened in Cairo yesterday: the government paid people to attack the anti-Mubarak protesters. This is what happened to my friend, a photographer who has worked widely over the world and currently lives in Cairo, ON FRIDAY 28 JANUARY 2011. I capitalise because it is important to note that this is BEFORE all the nastiness of the past 24 hours.

Cairo, Egypt – January 28th, 2011 – ZUMA Press photographer Wally Nell was wounded by police after being specifically targeted. He suffered 18 puncture wounds around the head and shoulders area while trying to move away with fellow photographer Dana Smillie. They were about 150 meters from the closest protesters, when an armored police vehicle approached from the opposite side. The vehicle stopped about 100m away, a policeman took aim with a shotgun, shot Dana Smillie, a photojournalist representing the Polaris news agency; and as they turned to run, Wally Nell was shot as well. They were specifically targeted by the police. They were covering Egyptians demonstrate under the 6th October Bridge at the Corniche on the Nile in downtown Cairo, in a concerted effort to draw attention to past police brutality, poverty and the rising cost of living; in spite of some deaths and many injured caused by police heavyhandedness. Slogans were shouted against the president of Egypt, Hosny Mubarak; urging his government to step down after being in power for 30 years. Other slogans shouted were calling for peace between Christian and Muslim religions. Photo by Wally Nell/ZUMA Press

Wally is recovering. He is keeping an admirable sense of humour and is staying on in Cairo to do what he sees as his responsibility, to photograph more of the Egyptian people in their struggle for a change of power.